From shark attack to Paralympic podium: Ali Truwit wins Para swimming silver 16 months after amputation
Sixteen months after a shark attack that forced her to swim for her life in the open ocean, USA's Ali Truwit swam to a Paralympic silver medal at Paris 2024.
In May 2023, just after graduating from Yale, Truwit’s life took a dramatic turn during a snorkeling excursion off the coast of Turks and Caicos. A shark attacked her, severing her left foot and leaving her with a harrowing 70-meter swim to safety.
Despite extensive medical efforts, doctors had to amputate her leg below the knee.
The 24-year-old former Yale swimmer returned to the pool following the life-threatening attack and claimed second place in the S10 400m Para swimming final on 5 September, setting a new American record with a time of 4:31.39.
Ali Truwit's comeback story: From losing lower leg in shark attack to Paralympics debut
From trauma to triumph: Ali Truwit makes the most of a second chance
In September 2023, Truwit reconnected with her coach, James Barone, and began the arduous process of adapting her swimming technique for her new reality as a lower-leg amputee. Each stroke and flip turn had to be meticulously relearned, but her competitive drive remained as fierce as ever.
"When I was faced with a life-changing trauma, I worked to see the positive and focus on gratitude and let that carry me. When you are truly faced with death and you understand what a second chance at life means, you want to make the most of it. So, I have worked to do that and it's not been without an incredible, incredible support system."
By October 2023, she competed in her first Para swim meet, and by December, she was winning medals at the U.S. nationals.
Less than a year later, she is on the biggest stage in the world, racing for a Paralympic medal, her support system around her.
In the 400m freestyle S10 final, Truwit stayed close to the front throughout the race, finishing just over two seconds behind Canadian world-record holder Aurélie Rivard. As she touched the wall to secure silver, Truwit’s journey from life-saving swims to victory laps came full circle.
"Sophie, who was in the water with me and tied the tourniquet on my leg and saved my life, is in the stands, as well as Hannah, who was the one who was in medical school rotation at the trauma hospital I was airlifted to. I am so lucky for them and all the others in the stands. It's a real full circle moment and speaks to the support I have all around me," the Paralympic medallist shared after her podium.